Interviews

T.J. Donovan, the state's attorney for Chittenden County, explains a new initiative in Burlington, Vermont, that mandates community restitution and participation in social services as alternatives to court or incarceration.

Audio

T.J. Donovan, the state's attorney for Chittenden County, explains a new initiative in Burlington, Vermont, that mandates community restitution and participation in social services as alternatives to court or incarceration.

Articles

In the summer of 2011, the Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, invited community justice practitioners from across the U.S. to share ideas about their work.

Description:
Newark Community Solutions is an innovative justice project that applies a problem-solving approach to non-violent cases in Newark's Municipal Court.

Overview

Launched in Spring 2011, Newark Community Solutions is a community justice initiative that applies a problem-solving approach to low-level cases in Newark, New Jersey’s municipal courthouse. Newark Community Solutions’s goals are twofold: to provide judges with increased sentencing options for non-violent offenses such as drug possession, prostitution, and shoplifting and to improve public perceptions of justice. By combining punishment with help, Newark Community Solutions seeks to promote the use of community service and social service mandates, reduce the court’s reliance on ineffective fines and expensive short-term jail sentences, and build public confidence in justice. Newark Community Solutions builds on lessons learned from successful community courts throughout the country, which have reduced local crime, improved compliance with sanctions, and strengthened the connections between courts and communities.

Interviews

Herb Sturz--the subject of a new book, A Kind of Genius, by New York Times reporter Sam Roberts--talks about innovation, the power of private-public collaborations, the founding of the Midtown Community Court, and his current work at the Open Society Institute.

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